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Christian Formation
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Day 8
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place this year from January 18-25. The theme is “Do You Believe?” and is based on Jesus’ conversation with Martha in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The theme was chosen in recognition of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325), at which the words “I believe” were chosen to anchor the Creed as an instrument of universal Christian unity. For each day during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the members of the Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee will share a series of devotions based on the statements in the Nicene Creed.
You can now view all eight of these devotionals on our website.
Day 8: We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Praying the final verse of the Nicene Creed, we confess our true belief in the unity to which Christ calls us as he prayed his priestly prayer of John 17: that indeed, “they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me” (John 17:21 CEB).
Nevertheless, we live in such a divided and divisive world. While the world embraces an “us vs. them” mentality, it so often seems the Church does, too. We see this in our own denomination as we timidly emerge from schism, a time in which members from both the United Methodist Church and the Global Methodist Church have both felt and dealt hurt and harm through words and actions against those with whom we theologically disagree. This is not a unique story in Christian history. And yet, throughout the ages, our traditions continue confessing the “oneness” of the Church which Christ has founded while choosing to go our separate ways.
It was Archbishop of Uppsala Nathan Söderblom who famously declared, “the world is too strong for a divided Church.” His statement rings just as true in today’s landscape as it did at the Life and Work Conference of 1925. When we confess the Church as ‘catholic,’ we affirm that it is universal, transcending borders, cultures, and confessional divides. What shared witness do Christians make to the world when we do not live in Christian love within our own ecclesial identities?
Christian unity is a gift from God; it is not something we have to create, but rather we have to acknowledge we have departed from such unity, working and serving to bring it about once again. This unity in Christ is grounded in our common baptism.
When we enter into the sacrament of baptism, we are no longer who we were before. Indeed, “baptism is the sign of new life through Jesus Christ. It unites the one baptized with Christ and with his people” (Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, II.2). Through baptism, our old life passes away and we are created anew. When we affirm our common baptism, we acknowledge the collective nature of the Church. Baptism is not baptism into a denomination; rather, through the sacrament we are initiated into Christ’s holy Church and incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation. Through God’s abundant grace, the congregation shares in remembrance of our own baptisms, celebrating with the newly baptized that indeed, “we are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Just as all Christians are initiated through the sacrament of baptism, so too do all Christians join together in the hope of the Christological refrain: “He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!” As Christians, we are Easter people, living in the abundant hope of resurrection even in the midst of a world so often full of death and decay.
To each of these creedal affirmations, we conclude by joining in a collective “amen.” Indeed, “truly,” this is what we believe; these are the essentials of our faith. Church traditions and denominations will always have differences of opinions – from liturgical practices to theological debates. In the creed, however, we confess our essential reality; that which binds us together to those whom we might otherwise disagree. In confessing the creed, we confess our unity, not that which divides us.
As we conclude this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, in reflecting on the Nicene Creed, it is my hope that you will be challenged to lean further into Christian unity and reflect more fully on the Nicene Creed. The creed is not simply another part of the liturgy, but rather a confession with profound implications for each of our lives and the collective life of the Church. As we seek for Christian unity, let us focus on what joins us together, not that which separates us.
Miles Baker Hunt is a member of CUIR and a provisional elder in the North Carolina Conference. He is currently completing post-graduate studies with the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland.
Photo by Albin Hillert, 4 October 2019, Geneva, Switzerland: Ecumenical Centre, Geneva.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Day 7
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place this year from January 18-25. The theme is “Do You Believe?” and is based on Jesus’ conversation with Martha in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The theme was chosen in recognition of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325), at which the words “I believe” were chosen to anchor the Creed as an instrument of universal Christian unity. For each day during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the members of the Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee will share a series of devotions based on the statements in the Nicene Creed.
You can sign up to receive these devotions each morning in your email or view them on our website.
Day 7: We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
On this second to last day in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we profess the Holy Spirit: the third member of the Triune God. The Nicene Creed describes the Holy Spirit as “the giver of life.” An image comes to mind of a baby taking its first breath–what a miraculous moment! And then I think about the fact that I am breathing as I type these words. “The giver of life,” then must not only mean the One who gave life in a singular moment. “The giver of life” is the same One who has kept me breathing since. This life-giving Holy Spirit, member of the Trinity, has been present from the beginning:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness.’” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added)
As a hospital chaplain, the Holy Spirit, “giver of life,” plays an important role in my faith and in my work. The Holy Spirit sustains me personally as I meet people on the best or worst days of their lives, offering a listening ear and a calm, non-anxious presence. The people I encounter are from all walks of faith representing various Christian denominations, non-Christian religions, and even no religion at all. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand the people I see, to understand their stories, their walks of faith, their struggles, their celebrations. I am reminded of the day of Pentecost described in Acts:
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.” (Acts 2:4-6)
In this miraculous story, the Holy Spirit gives people the ability to hear and understand one another–people who otherwise would not be able to hear and understand one another. The Holy Spirit indeed “has spoken through the prophets.” During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, may the Holy Spirit speak again and help us to understand one another.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, thank you for the gift of life. May I be mindful that the same One who sustains my breath is the same One who sustains the breaths of my siblings in Christ–even those who I do not always want to listen to. Help us all come together in prayer. May you grant us the ability to hear and understand one another amid our differences. By the power of the Holy Spirit, let it be so. Amen.
Katy Medinas-Lockley serves in extension ministry as a Clinical Pastoral Education Specialist at WakeMed Cary and is a member of CUIR.
Photo by Albin Hillert, 4 October 2019, Geneva, Switzerland: Ecumenical Centre, Geneva.
Leading Worship
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Day 6
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place this year from January 18-25. The theme is “Do You Believe?” and is based on Jesus’ conversation with Martha in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The theme was chosen in recognition of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325), at which the words “I believe” were chosen to anchor the Creed as an instrument of universal Christian unity. For each day during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the members of the Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee will share a series of devotions based on the statements in the Nicene Creed.
You can sign up to receive these devotions each morning in your email or view them on our website.
Day 6: He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
There is a wonderful old icon from the sixth century, still kept at Mt. Sinai. Several feet tall, as ancient icons often are, it shows Christ robed in majesty with a halo around his head and looking with interest directly at the viewer. In his left hand he holds a Bible or gospel book. His right hand is raised in a gesture of teaching or blessing. In Eastern Orthodox thought, the icon represents Christ Pantocrator, that is, “Christ, ruler of all.” He is at the same time majestic and awesome, yet benevolent and interested in our welfare. It is also clear from his gaze that he knows all about us.
We might take this icon as a point of entry into the idea of Jesus Christ as judge of the living and the dead. It is an idea on which we do not often dwell, but it is nevertheless true, as Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 reminds us. We find it difficult to think that the one who calls us friend is also the one to judge us. Yet, upon reflection, who is in a better position to know us—warts and all—than our best friend? Who is better able to offer us a word of correction, a word of direction, a word of encouragement, than our closest friends? Christ’s judgement is not meant to be harsh; it is meant to be redemptive. Indeed, this is the very root of the idea of restorative justice. Those in the parable who are sent into eternal punishment are sent there because of their steady refusal to accept God’s guidance and mercy. Those who are invited into the kingdom are invited there because they have lived by God’s grace and shown in the way they treat both neighbors and strangers that they accept and know God’s love. Christ’s judgment of us is awe-inspiring in breadth and depth. How we receive that judgment is up to us.
The creed goes on to speak of the kingdom, in this case Christ’s kingdom. Again, we reflect upon the idea of Christ as ruler of all that is, ruler of all time. As the Father’s only son, Christ rules eternally with him. In Psalm 139, the psalmist considers God’s thoughts: “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”
My daughters will sometimes ask, “where are we?” I will reply, “In the car.” They will ask, “And where are we in the car?” “In the road.” They continue, “Where are we in the road?” “In North Carolina.” “And where are we in North Carolina?” “In the world.” “And where are we in the world?” “In the solar system.” “And where are we in the solar system?” “In the Milky Way Galaxy.” “And where are we in the galaxy?” “In the universe.” “And where are we in the universe?” “In the mind of God.”
You and I, and all creation, are alive because we are in the mind of God, who is creator and ruler of all, now and forever. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Roderic L. Mullen is a member of CUIR and serves as pastor at Allensville UMC (Roxboro) and Mt. Tirzah UMC (Timberlake).
Photo by Albin Hillert, 4 October 2019, Geneva, Switzerland: Ecumenical Centre, Geneva.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Day 5
An Offering from the Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships Team
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place this year from January 18-25. The theme is “Do You Believe?” and is based on Jesus’ conversation with Martha in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The theme was chosen in recognition of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325), at which the words “I believe” were chosen to anchor the Creed as an instrument of universal Christian unity. For each day during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the members of the Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee will share a series of devotions based on the statements in the Nicene Creed.
You can sign up to receive these devotions each morning in your email or view them on our website.
Day 5: For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Have you ever recited a creed and felt that the words seemed routine rather than meaningful? That happened to me one Sunday morning. As the phrase “under Pontius Pilate” rolled off my tongue, I had to pause. Why do I often name this Roman governor in passing—this hand of imperial power that played a role in the death of Jesus? How can I miss its weight?
Then, I had to ask myself: Where am I? Suffering against the power of empire? Or unknowingly serving it?
Naming Pontius Pilate in the Nicene Creed ties Christ’s crucifixion to a particular moment in history. It reminds us that Jesus was executed by the evil of an empire built on domination and control—an empire that sought to silence the message of God’s kingdom: a kingdom where love is poured out, mercy is boundless, and justice is upheld, as revealed on Jesus’ cross.
For our sake, Jesus willingly entered into this suffering “under Pontius Pilate.” In doing so, he stood in solidarity with the oppressed, the outcast, and the marginalized. Through this act in Jesus, God calls us, the Church, to embody Christ’s faithfulness by resisting evil and proclaiming God’s justice in unity.
When we confess the death of Christ “under Pontius Pilate,” let us remember that the power of empire continues to persist today. It takes many forms—economic inequity driven by greed, systemic racism, environmental destruction, and indifference to human suffering. Where do we notice the brokenness of empire in our lives or communities? What’s one way we can respond with Christ’s courage and compassion in solidarity?
Christ calls us to resist these forces, to choose love and justice even when it costs us something. Yet here’s the good news: the story doesn’t end with empire or suffering.“On the third day, he rose again.” The scars that Jesus carried with him in Ascension remind us that God’s heavenly reign does not ignore the brokenness of this world. Instead, it bears its weight and transforms it. This shared hope binds us together as one body of Christ: God’s love is greater than any human failure, frailty, or fear.
May the words of the creed—“under Pontius Pilate”—inspire us, paradoxically, to live boldly: stepping out in love, standing together for justice, and walking as one body. May our shared lives declare: Life conquers death! Hope endures suffering! And love casts out fear. Amen.
Seyun Hwang is the Associate Pastor of Genesis UMC (Cary) and a member of CUIR.
Photo by Albin Hillert, 4 October 2019, Geneva, Switzerland: Ecumenical Centre, Geneva.